Cannon's Walk Block (New York City, New York)

 store / shop, museum

A full block of early buildings consolidated around a central open-air area known as Cannon's Walk.

At the northeastern end is 133 Beekman, a 3-story building completed in 1914, now an extension of the South Street Seaport Museum to the southwest, with a marketplace of shops and a cafe. Running the length of the block from Front to Water Street, it is clad in yellow brick, with slightly-projecting piers dividing the east facade into eight bays. The five northern bays and the southernmost one each have three windows separated by pink metal mullions. In the remaining two bays, two of the windows are separated by the same style mullions, with the third divided by a narrow brick pilaster. Each bay's grouping of three windows has a joined stone sill. The main piers have sheet-metal capitals, also painted pink, and a deeply projecting dentiled cornice of sheet metal crowns the building.

On the southeast end of the block, facing Front Street, are a row of buildings at 201-207 Front. The corner building, at 201 Front, was completed in 1983, designed by Beyer Blinder Belle as a re-creation of James Bogardus's revered cast-iron facade that had stood at Washington and Murray Streets. Known as the Bogardus Building, the new structure is a 4-story mercantile building clad in white metal and glass, with a rounded corner which attempts to recall the same look but in modern materials. It is a recreation of one of the first ever stolen buildings in a sense.

Nos. 203-204 were erected at different times, but have been combined into one building, and substantially altered since their original construction. In 815, No. 203 was built for Peter G. Hart, a grocer. Its neighbor, No. 204, had been erected fifteen years earlier, in 179S, for Philetus Haven and for Thomas Carpenter, a merchant. In the 1830s or 1840s the ground floors of these buildings were altered to the Greek-revival style. Granite piers with simple Tuscan capitals flank the large openings for the shop windows and carry a plain lintel with cornice. At No. 203 the two pairs of double doors and the shop window have been handsomely restored with flat-headed transoms arched at the corners. In 1832, No. 203, then still owned by the estate of Peter G. Hart, was joined with No. 204. At this time, the upper floors of No. 203 were altered and the two buildings were remodeled, as a single hotel with a new brick facade. These alterations were executed from the designs of architect Theobald Engelhardt.

The three upper floors now date completely from Engelhardt's alteration. The brownstone window sills on corbel blocks are fancifully designed with small triangular wedges at their centers, as are the shouldered lintels which are also embellished with Incised curvilinear ornament. The original peaked roof of No. 203 was lowered in 1882 In order to align with the roof line of No. 204. A massive, ornate metal roof cornice, carried on large vertical brackets set between modillions, spans this handsome pair. No. 203, joined to No. 204, now serves as the South Street Seaport Museum Administration Building.

No. 205 is a 4-story building completed in 1800, when it was occupied by the prominent shipping firm of Jenkins & Havens. Like No. 203-204, the round floor has been remodeled In the popular Greek-revival commercial style. Granite piers enframing the storefront openings support granite lintel with molded cornice. The red brick facade is simply detailed with stone lintels and sills at the windows and a copper rain gutter above a molded brick cornice and fascia.

206 Front Street is a 3.5-story structure known as the Matthew Howell Building, completed in 1799 as a 3-story Federal-style store and residence for chef & grocer Matthew Howell. It is one of the oldest buildings in the Seaport. After an 1880 fire, the building was substantially remodeled. At that time the roof was lowered and the facade was completely rebuilt, with a pair of dormers on top. Above the 2nd floor, the facade is ornamented by gold lettering reading "CANNON'S WALK".

207 Front Street is a 4-story building completed in 1816, first occupied by Jonathan and Joseph Coddlngton, grocers and merchants. Although the ground floor was altered in 1901, the three upper floors retain their red Flemish bond brickwork and stone window trim. The building has a peaked roof.

On the northwestern side of the block, fronting Water Street, are a trio of identical 5-story Greek-revival warehouses at 207-211 Water, and a larger 5-story warehouse at 213-215 Water Street. Nos. 207-211 were erected as a group in 1836 for three individuals, P.J. Hart, Gabriel Havens and David Louderback. Markedly simple in general design, they display at the ground floor monolithic granite piers with simple Tuscan capitals, supporting wide granite architraves. This treatment of the stores helps to unify the facades. At Nos. 207 and 211, the fine, tall double entrance doors are flanked by a large display window to the left and by paneled wood doors, leading to an open-riser staircase, to the right. A paneled wood door at No. 211 leads to the basement of the building. Nos. 207 and 211 have been handsomely restored by the South Street Seaport Museum; No. 207 is now the Museum Model Shop. Granite roof cornices span all three facades.

The Italianate building at 213-215 Water Street was completed in 1868 from the designs of Stephen D. Hatch. It was built for A.A. Thompson & Co., a tin and metals concern, and offers a striking contrast with the earlier Greek-revival buildings nearby. Cast-iron, so popular for commercial buildings after the mid-19th century, is used at the ground floor. Here, large arched openings are supported on massive, engaged cast-iron columns, which probably originally had rnamented capitals. The upper floors of the buildings are of Tuckahoe marble which could be mistaken for cast- iron. At each of the upper floors, quoins ornament the sides of the building, while engaged columns support recessed flat-headed window enframements curved at the corners. The cornice of the building is particularly noteworthy. Carried on closely spaced vertical console brackets, doubled at each end, it is crowned by a low triangular pediment, also supported on brackets, at the center of which appears the date of construction.

Lastly, at the south and southwester sections of the block, fronting Fulton Street, are three 5-story Greek-revival store-and-loft buildings completed in 1846 for George W. Rogers, one of the city's larger landholders. With granite storefronts and machine-pressed red brick facades, these buildings have also been restored by the South Street Seaport Museum. The ground floors display fine granite piers with simple Tuscan capitals. No. 25, which now houses the Museum Book Shop and Chart Store, has a ground floor of a later date. A fluted cast-iron column at the corner supports the floors above. These fine buildings are spanned by a simple dentilled brick roof cornice, with fascia below, which extends along the Water Street side of No. 25.